Saturday afternoon was supposed to be simple. Very simple. Aiden and Mia had planned their second date all week. No Noah. No Sophie. No interruptions. Just them. Which was exactly why things went wrong. Aiden arrived at the mall first and waited near the entrance. Five minutes passed. Then ten. Then fifteen. Mia was never this late. He checked his phone. No messages. No missed calls. Nothing. Just as he was about to text her, he spotted her on the second floor near a café. His expression immediately changed. Mia wasn't alone. She was talking to a guy. A tall guy. A confident-looking guy. The two of them were laughing about something. Aiden didn't know why it bothered him. But it did. Meanwhile, Mia was completely unaware of the problem developing across the mall. She had accidentally bumped into Ryan, an old friend from her previous school.
"I still can't believe it's you."
"I know. It's been forever."
"Two years."
"More like two and a half."
Ryan laughed.
"You got better at math."
"I hate you."
"You walked right into that one."
Mia rolled her eyes. Then her gaze drifted across the mall and landed on a familiar face.
"Aiden!"
She immediately waved.
Aiden waved back.
But something felt off.
The smile he gave her wasn't quite right.
A few moments later, Mia reached him.
"Sorry I'm late."
"It's fine."
That was the first warning sign. Because Aiden never said "it's fine" like that.
"You've been waiting long?"
"Not really."
That was the second warning sign. Because that was obviously a lie.
Mia studied him for a second.
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
Third warning sign. Definitely a lie. Mia frowned slightly but decided not to push it. At least not yet. The two of them headed into the mall together. They grabbed drinks. Walked through a few stores. Talked about school. Talked about their teachers. Talked about Noah being a menace to society. Yet something felt different. Aiden wasn't ignoring her. He wasn't being rude. He was just... quieter. Every now and then Mia caught him staring off into space. Thinking about something. Eventually she couldn't take it anymore.
"Aiden."
"Hm?"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Mia immediately stopped walking.
"Aiden."
"What?"
"Talk."
He sighed.
"I am talking."
"No, you're avoiding."
"I'm not."
"You are."
Aiden rubbed the back of his neck. Mia crossed her arms. Then waited. Because she knew him. And she knew he'd crack eventually. Sure enough...
"Who was that guy?"
Mia blinked.
"What guy?"
"The guy you were talking to."
"Oh."
Suddenly everything made sense. Ryan. The weird mood. The strange answers. The quietness. All of it.
"Oh."
Aiden immediately regretted asking.
"What?"
Mia stared at him. Then realization hit. And unfortunately... a smile appeared. A small one. Then a bigger one. Then a very obvious one.
Aiden narrowed his eyes.
"Don't."
"You're jealous."
"I'm not jealous."
"You are."
"I'm not."
"You totally are."
Aiden groaned.
Mia laughed.
Which turned out to be a mistake.
Because Aiden suddenly looked annoyed.
Not angry.
Not really.
Just annoyed enough for Mia's laughter to fade.
"Oh."
The atmosphere changed immediately. Neither liked it. Not one bit.
"I wasn't jealous."
"Aiden."
"I wasn't."
"You literally asked about him."
"Because I was curious."
"Sure."
Aiden frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you're jealous."
"And what if I'm not?"
"Then why does it matter who he is?"
Aiden opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
Mia noticed.
Immediately.
"Exactly."
That annoyed him even more.
"Why are you acting like this is funny?"
Mia blinked.
"I'm not."
"You were laughing."
"Because it was cute."
The second the word left her mouth, she knew she'd said the wrong thing.
Aiden's expression changed.
"Cute?"
"That's not what I meant."
"No, go ahead."
"Aiden."
"Cute."
Mia sighed.
"You know that's not what I meant."
For the first time all day, neither sounded amused. The playful teasing had disappeared completely. Neither of them intended for the conversation to turn into an argument. But somehow it had.
"I just don't like being laughed at."
"I wasn't laughing at you."
"It felt like it."
Mia's expression softened slightly.
"Aiden..."
But he looked away. And somehow that hurt more than the argument itself.
For the next few minutes they continued walking through the mall. Together. But not really together. The conversations became shorter. The jokes disappeared. The comfortable feeling from before was gone. Neither knew how to fix it. And neither was willing to be the first one to apologize. By the time they finally said goodbye that evening, things still felt wrong.
"See you Monday."
"Yeah."
Neither smiled. Neither lingered. Neither said what they actually wanted to say. And as they walked away from each other, both had the exact same thought. This was stupid. Unfortunately... Neither was ready to admit it yet.